It's Back to School We Go! [NOOOOO!]

School supplies in Walmart and Target. My living room full of bags. The return of that creative itch.

All signs that back to school is coming.

Have you ever heard of the book "It's Back to School We Go!: First Day Stories from Around the World" by Ellen Jackson?

Neither had I until I stopped in Becker's for some school shopping on my way home from a doctors appointment! While I was in there, I picked up a bunch of borders that I don't need, along with a few other things. [Post on that coming soon!] One of which was this book.

It is a book that describes the "back to school experience" of children around the world. Each account includes a personal narrative, beautiful pictures, and a fact box that describes children from that particular country. The accounts are based on real individuals. Click the image above to preview it. I really like this book!

At the beginning of the year, I like to give students a lot of opportunities to write, partially so that I can see what they are capable of doing independently. Will they use proper grammar? Will they structure their writing into paragraphs? Will they even follow the prompt? All of these questions can be answered by giving students motivating writing activities.

So, I created a freebie to correlate with the book! The document is supposed to be the 30th and 31st pages in the book, and students are asked to write about their own back to school experience in the same format as the text.

Also included in the freebie are a 30th page customized for a Delaware student and 31st page customized for children in the US. Click either image above to download the freebie. I'd love it if you left feedback, followed my store, and/or follow my blog if you decide to download!

Also, about 35 people took advantage of my overnight flash freebie. [Thank you to the four people who left feedback!] Check out my newest product, a research project, if you're interested. But, my birthday is next week, so save it in your cart. I may or may not be having a sale coming up soon! =)

Flash Freebie!: Research Writing Pack

Head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store and grab my newest product...

[click above!]

while it's free!

It includes lesson plans, activating activities, graphic organizers, paper, and four extension activities/rubrics. I'd really appreciate it if you followed my store & left feedback if you download! =)

It will go back to regular price [$5.00] tomorrow around 8am EST when I wake up for class. I'm suddenly regretting taking a modular class, which is Friday, Saturday, Sunday for two weekends.

When it goes back to regular price, there will still be a freebie in the preview. It is a brainstorming worksheet.

Talk soon!

Researching Careers

Good morning, all!

Last year, I wrote a post about how I conducted an animal research project in room 144. This year, my third graders conducted another research project, inspired by my current pursuit of a graduate degree in school counseling!

Let me reiterate that I love research projects. I seriously can't get enough. I'd do them all day long if I could. They are so engaging, and they really motivate kids to just write!

Anyway, this year, I guided my students through interest inventories, class discussions, graphic organizers, and the writing process, all in hopes of writing an informational essay on their potential future career! 

Like teachers, school counselors have standards that they must meet. Career development is a huge chunk [a third, actually] of those standards. If you're interested, here is a PDF of ASCA's counseling standards.

My students loved every minute of it, and their final products were out of this world. I made their essays into a class book to send home with them at the end of the year. I don't know if any of my babies will be pilots, lawyers, teachers, or journalists, but now they have a better idea of what it takes to attain careers, along with specific information about them.

With that being said, I compiled all of the aspects of my project into a TPT product for you, if you are interested.  For just $5.00, you will receive a 26 pg. writing project that can be used from grades 3 [with support!] up to grades 5-6 [independently!]. As you can see in the graphic, it is aligned with third grade, common core writing standards, and it includes lesson plans, activating activities, tons of graphic organizers, final draft paper, and optional extension activities with rubrics.

Before I put it on flash freebie (!!) and sale, I'd love it if one or two of my upper elementary [3-5ish] or even middle school friends could look it over for me. I originally had all of this in Word when I used it in my classroom, and I did lots of copy/pasting into Powerpoint for TPT. I want to make sure nothing was lost in the process! 

The first two people who comment with their email address can look it over, then receive a free copy if there are any changes that need to be made. I'd really appreciate any volunteers! =)

Update: Thank you Ursula, Kathy, and Melinda! They are currently looking over my product, and I hope to have it ready to go soon! =)

Ten Pin Linky & a Giveaway

I'm linking up with Just Reed for her ten pin linky party.

I've love stealing seeing everyone's pins!

This week is science and social studies related. With science, I don't have much flexibility in what I do. We get three FOSS kits, human body, earth materials, and water. I barely have time to get through those lessons, let alone supplement with other things. With social studies, we have a little more wiggle room. We touch on communities around the world and map skills. As I've said before, I take the lead in science, while my partner takes the lead in social studies, so I have way more science pins.

[If you don't already, follow me on Pinterest using the button on the right.]

I'm a pinning machine!

1. I don't do anything involving animal tracks, but this is so creative. I'm sure I can figure out a way to incorporate this! [Original Source: Still Parenting]



2. Our first kit of the year is human body. Our kids don't have to memorize all of the bones in the body, but we do make sure that they can identify around ten of them, such as the skull, femur, ribs, etc. This graphic is awesome, as it may help some more visual students in memorization. [Original Source: I Waste So Much]



3. Another great visual for older students! As a project, students could make up a game using these cards. Love it! [Original Source: Buzz Feed]



4. We teach figurative language. We teach human body. Love it! [Original Source: Mark Aaron TPT]



5. This pin makes me wish that I taught constellations. [Original Source: Nature Watch]



6. And this one makes me wish I taught animal adaptations. [Original Source: Ashleigh's Education Journey]



7. When teaching earth materials, we talk about properties of minerals. This is a great visual from another blogger. [Original Source: Nyla's Crafty Teaching]



8. At this site, you can look up any issue of the New York Times. How neat to go back and see authentic news source of historical events. [Original Source: New York Times]



9. This pin says it is spam, but it is a mummification of barbie dolls. The picture is great, and I'm sure you could find directions somewhere! I studied this in high school and would have loved doing something like this!



10. This is another great source for research. Learn more about our nation's national parks! [Original Source: Girl Scouts]

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Before I go, I wanted to let you know that my friend Kelly at Koonce's Korner is having a giveaway! Click her image below to check it out. A winner will be announced on Monday, and you can win a ton of products, including any item from my TPT store!

Talk soon!

Favorite Pins Friday!

Hello, all! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, filled with good food, family, and most of all, appreciation for those who fight for our freedom everyday! I had a low key holiday. I haven't been feeling all that great, so I just hung out at my dad's house.

Here are some pins that I've found recently that I'd love to share. Not much related to school. Maybe next week? ;)

1. Billy has an early dismissal. Kimmy is a car rider today. Today is our PBS shopping day. Name 15 other changes that happen throughout the day that I'm bound to forget. I usually just write this stuff on the corner of the board, but having a dry erase sign like this [mine will be smaller] next to my door would be much cuter. [Original Source: Clutter Free Classroom]

2. You need to check out this site. It's also a blog that you can follow. I've seen a lot of friends posting about integrating math into real life situations. These blog posts do just that! There are also videos, a book, and an app. You won't be disappointed. [Original Source: Bedtime Math]

3. This quote means a lot to me. At 26, many of my friends are married and starting to have babies. I'm just not there yet in my personal life. I need to remember to not compare my life to others in all aspects. [Original Source: Home Fries]

4. Um, I just love this. I pinned this when I was babysitting my sister's kitten, my fur niece Maxi. And this pretty much applies to every foster kitten or puppy that I've ever had! [Original Source: Tastefully Offensive]

5. Can you say YUM! My boyfriend & I were really close to attempting this, but then we got lazy and ordered out. Yeah, story of our lives. [Original Source: Key Ingredient]

6. How can you not love this commercial? I need this shirt. [Original Source: Skreened]

7. How cute & creative. Flip an end table upside down, decorate, put a bed inside. Love it! [Original Source: Unknown]

Click the button below to link up!